


How to Make You Mine

by TooYoungToFeelThisTired



Series: What if? [25]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: A smallest bit of angst, Acting like a couple, Adult Number Five, Alternate Timelines, Ben Hargreeves is Alive, Characters being adorable, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, No incest if you understand Fiveya, Other siblings are being siblings, Post-Season/Series 01, Romance, Some Five's POV, Time Travel Fix-It, Vanya's POV, Wooing, art of making a person fall in love, fiveya - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 22:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20881808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooYoungToFeelThisTired/pseuds/TooYoungToFeelThisTired
Summary: Something's up with Five, and Vanya isn't sure she minds all that much





	How to Make You Mine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [263Adder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/263Adder/gifts).

> Disclaimer: Do not own anything

It should have been noted that by the age of thirty Vanya Hargreeves thought there wasn't much which could surprise her. She supposed it would natural for one to gain such an ability after you find out you had suppressed destructive powers all your life by your dad and sister, dated a manipulative and vengeful psychotic asshole, caused the apocalypse a couple of times, and had siblings who used to be egoistic and selfish superheroes who caused you to feel meaningless and unimportant for the last twenty-three years. So yes, by now Vanya Hargreeves was almost certain there weren't many things which could surprise her. Apart from a few missteps like her superpowers and her ex, she would like to think she was a good observer and had a decent judgment of character. She knew the people close to her inside and out so there was little anyone could do to surprise her. Even her brother Klaus who was known to do the most irrational and crazy thing possible was becoming sort of dull since she was expecting him to come up with something insane.

So yes, by now Vanya was pretty confident about her skills to know people and not be surprised by their behavior or decision. And yet she found herself surprised by the one person she thought she knew better than anyone in that point in her life. It was that person she thought she would least have to worry about ever shocking her, who shocked her beyond her imagination. That person was herself.

* * *

By now Vanya was used to Five's eccentric behavior. Crazy mood swings from calm to upset to passive. Saying the oddest thing in the absolutely unexpected times. But she knew it was because his brain worked quicker others. Weird rituals like sleeping with an open window always on the lookout. Never seemingly at ease with anyone new, always sensing a trap or betrayal. Honestly, Five had a lot of issues some because of their childhood, some because of his time in solitude, others because of the time in commission, and some simply because he was _Five _a paranoid genius with an ego bigger than her living room. Still, Vanya was used to _all_ of his crazy, by now. Or so she thought. This was something new though.

It started-no honestly, Vanya didn't know _when_ it started, but the first thing that she noticed was that Five started to show up in her apartment in the early morning with breakfast and coffee.

'What are you doing?' she asked as he shook her awake at light 6 A.M all dressed up for work in her apartment.

'Waking you up. Come on,' he said and urge her to the kitchen as she tried not to dwell on the fact that she was braless and in her PJs before she sat down at her dining table and watched him walk around putting coffee, orange juice, bacon and eggs in front of her.

She eyed her table confused before she glanced over at him waiting for some explanation, but he remained quiet just offered her his impatient look, 'Well, will you try it or not?'

Not wanting to push his temper she actually started to eat and watched as he did while wondering what it was all about while also enjoying the breakfast. Surprisingly it was even worth waking up sooner. Given her weird sleeping schedules, she often overslept and had to hurry to work with no time to eat before, and she was far too anxious to do it there with all her colleagues. She knew it was ridiculous, but she felt her stomach pull into a knot whenever she thought about eating in front of them.

They chatted a bit and Vanya thanked and praised him for the breakfast which made him look a bit happy before he left and she went to get dressed and ready for work.

She thought it was a onetime thing. Like maybe Five was feeling that he wanted to try to make breakfast and didn't want to blow up his own kitchen so he chose hers, or he wanted breakfast and wished for the company.

However, the next morning it happened again as Five sat her down in front of the table with her favorite type of coffee and pancakes.

'You actually made those?' Vanya was impressed she never managed to master making pancakes without ruining them or maybe she didn't try enough.

He shrugged his shoulders, and they started to eat. She didn't fail to notice that he made blueberry ones which were her favorite.

After that, all went the same. She woke up to Five being in her apartment and breakfast on the table. He had a key, but she had no doubt he used the window like the sneaky ex-assassin that he was. Honestly, after a week, Vanya wasn't sure what to think about it. If he wanted something surely he would already ask for it, and he wasn't just checking up on her because she went about a year without an incidence. So why was he here again at 6 A.M making waffles and putting jam on them for her, she had no idea, but she might as well enjoy it and make the most of it.

Anyway, if Vanya was trying to re-track the clues and steps which let her here, that would have been the first one she would go to.

The next one happened about the third morning when Five came to make breakfast for her, 'What time did you go to sleep last night?'

He asked as he watched her yawning. She didn't bother to cover her exhaustion. She was so tired today.

'About one or two,' she admitted and watched the unimpressed look on his face, 'That's not healthy at all.'

She grimaced at him, 'You're the one to talk, Mr.I-work-for-two-days-without-a-break.'

He rolled his eyes, 'Only when I was dealing with the commission or trying to save all our asses. What is it? Nightmares? Stress?'

She shrugged her shoulders and admitted that she thought it was the pills. They used to numb down her emotion, so once she stopped taking them was like she got hit with all of them at once. Ben compared her to a pregnant woman as in those first few weeks after they came back she would burst into tears or laugh without seemingly any reason stressing out the others in the process. She was a bit better with dealing with them now, but she definitely felt overwhelmed at times. Maybe it was the new and profound feelings that kept her up at night.

Apparently, that just wouldn't do with Five, and by dinner time her phone buzzed non-stop with messages from him with links to different sites and articles about how to deal with insomnia with his little comments at the end referring to which method he thought could be good for her and which not.

Surprisingly, one actually worked and Vanya started to catch a decent amount of sleep. She told him as much, but he brushed it off with odd modesty. She knew that if she praised his intellect or theory she wouldn't hear the end of it, his ego was far too big to let that live down, but when it was the little things like helping her sleep or making breakfast for her _again_, Five was very shy to accept it.

'Don't mention it,' he said looking at his plate while they ate before he looked up at her and involved her into a discussion. If Vanya was better at observation and interpretation of human behavior, she would surely catch and _know_ based on how just a little bit redder his ears had got when she thanked him, but she didn't and so it took her a couple of months to figure it all out.

Anyway, after breakfast and the sleeping rituals, came lunch. She almost had a heart attack when Five all of the sudden appeared at her work close to lunchtime. She never confessed it, but felt pretty lonely when she was on lunch all by herself and didn't feel confident enough to invite someone if someone didn't ask her she just bought a few things from the vending machine.

'Who's that hottie?' asked her colleague and Vanya choke on her water a bit as she watched Five raise his hand motioning for her to come.

'Your boyfriend?'

She _should_ have corrected her. She _would_ have corrected her, but she had trouble breathing after the water went into the wrong pipe and once she finally stopped coughing, the other woman already said, 'Don't worry, you will tell me all about it later.'

Vanya honestly didn't know what to tell. He was her brother. It was one simple sentence that would correct the false assumption and end the conversation in minutes.

She sighed to herself brush her mouth and walked to him.

'Come on, I have some time,' he said instead of her a greeting, 'I will treat you to lunch.'

He looked so unfazed by everything all the time, almost like he couldn't be bothered by anything or too interested in anything, so honestly Vanya didn't know why he wanted to have lunch with her, but she might as well go and avoid her colleagues and having to tell them who he was and that she was single and getting over their pity looks. She was fine. Why did everyone have to make a big deal out of someone not dating?

Anyway, Five took her to this little dinner close to her work. Nothing fancy, but nothing too lowlife. It suited both of them just fine. They talked about work and about their days which Vanya found a bit funny since she literally spoke with him this morning over breakfast.

'Is this where you usually go to lunch?' she asked while eating. The food wasn't half bad.

'No, I usually eat in the office,' he replied casual which surprised her even more. Why did he want to eat with her then?

He shrugged his shoulders and brushed it off as a change of scenario kind of thing as well as a better lifestyle.

'I can't just force you to take better care of yourself and not do the same,' he said, 'That would be very hypocritical of me.'

She smiled at him before she shook her head. She knew there was another reason, most definitely a very _weird_ reason which would make perfect sense, but for the time being she enjoyed to have someone to eat with. It made lunchtime come to an end far quicker than it usually did when she was actually talking to Five, and he was a bit disappointed it did. It was nice to spent time with Five, it always was. When they used to be kids Vanya often wandered into his room knowing he would never chase her away and actually talk to her the way the others sometimes did. She knew she couldn't take it too much to heart and she didn't blame her siblings because of it, at least not as much as she used to, but Five never was like that. Even when he was annoyed by something and upset and very hard to be around with he would look at her, and she could tell his face softened a bit before he rambled or continue to work not minding that she was there at least not voicing it. Something Vanya used to stay in his room long enough to know how long would it take for him to finally tell her to leave, but he never did. Instead, he left himself.

She tried to shoe the thoughts away, no point in dwelling on the past, and instead focused on the pie selection.

'Do you want one?' he asked as he must have caught her shameless ogling them.

'I'm tempted, but I'm too full to eat one that big,' she said.

Five said something, and she blinked looking back at him, 'Sorry, what?'

'Let's split,' he repeated and nodded at the waitress to come to take a new order.

Vanya chuckled, 'Okay, which one?'

'Which one do you want?' he asked looking at her. His thoughts were always a mystery to her, even know she had no idea why he looked so pleased all of a sudden. Because they were about to have pie? If he wanted one he could have ordered one himself.

'So?'

'Strawberry,' she said all too quickly just as the waitress came and to her utter surprise, Five ordered _blueberry_.

'Why?'

'It's your favorite,' he shrugged his shoulders and leaned closer like he was about to tell her a secret, 'I know you only went for the strawberry one because you think I like it more.'

She chuckled a bit embarrassed to admit he caught her. She didn't to have a different kind as long as Five would be happy. She was always like that, she just didn't think he would be as well.

'You said you don't like it,' she reminded him of the time they were kids.

'Yes, well, I had enough time to consider my childish behavior toward food,' he said referring to the apocalypse and Vanya felt that small guilty pinch inside her as she knew _why_ he had to be there in the first place.

'But not with coffee. I would rather drink my own pee again than suffer through bad coffee,' he said so seriously she couldn't help but lighten up a bit and chuckle.

'Again?'

'Surprisingly, it wasn't just when I was in the apocalypse-'

'Jesus,' she giggled some more before the waitress brought the pie and two forks and they dug in. Obviously, she ended up eating most of it. _Not being childish her ass_.

'Thank you,' she said as he walked her back to work. She really was grateful because it was so much more fun to sit and talk with him than to eat alone or with people she never felt brave enough to say anything. She wondered if she could suggest them doing this again sometimes, but also didn't know how. Five was a very private person who liked to keep himself hidden in his work and office or apartment. He usually rarely left it so the last thing Vanya wanted was to somehow make him uncomfortable or obligated to take her out.

'Same time tomorrow?' he asked suddenly, and she couldn't help her heart from fluttering with joy upon hearing that.

She knew her smile was probably too wide, but she nodded agreeing and then hurried to get to work. She was beyond happy, and apparently, it was clear to everyone around her.

'So the date went well?' asked her colleague, but once again they got cut off by their leader so Vanya couldn't correct her. She would do it later.

* * *

So it became a thing for them. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner which apparently was one or the other coming to the other apartment and eating pizza or Five cooking because it was something was very much into this time around and catching up on movies Five didn't get to see. It was fun. It was nice, and it made Vanya feel happier and more content than she did in years.

After the apocalypse and them time traveling it was mostly about her learning how to control the unstoppable force inside her while trying to reconnect with her family. All the new bounds were still tender. It wasn't like they could jump into being a perfect happy family. Not yet anyway.

But they tried, and that counted. It was more than they had the first time anyway.

Sometimes her family joined them for dinner, and Vanya could clearly spot Five's mild annoyance and then acceptance. What the hell was that about she didn't know? Didn't he want to reconnect with all of his family?

* * *

What started after dinner was actually going out.

'We should go see it then,' said Five suddenly at lunch when she mentioned a new play her colleagues were talking about at work.

She made a grimace, 'Like out into the public. You sure such wallflowers like us can handle that?' she joked at their expenses and saw how Five grinned, 'We can give it a try.'

It felt…different. Vanya wasn't sure what it was but for some reason, it felt different to hang out outside with Five all alone. It just felt different. The fact that she spent a while picking up what to wear, showering and washing her hair didn't help to normalize the experience. She wasn't sure what it was, but as she put on her flats and walked outside to meet with Five looking so casual and nice, she joked that they looked like they were on a date. She caught herself last minute deciding she couldn't really say that. She wasn't sure why. They joked and goofed around a lot. Why would this be any different than all the other things she said?

She didn't think she acted any differently until Five leaned toward her in the dark of the theater and asked, 'You okay?'

She blinked at him noting she had been holding the bag far too tight.

'Do you need us to go out? Maybe for a walk?' he asked carefully and Vanya couldn't help but smile at his care even if she shook her head. She relaxed a bit after that. It was just her and Five spending time together with nothing out of the ordinary. She was just creating problems in her mind like always.

She enjoyed the show and afterward they went for hotdogs and walk around the streets. It felt like a date a bit, minus the touching, but oddly Vanya didn't mind. It felt strangely nice even if it was only with Five.

'Thanks for tonight,' she told him as he walked her home.

'Of course, it was fun. But no more plays let's go see movies like regular people,' he smirked and she shook her head before grinning at him.

'Oh we're trying to be like regular people now?' she asked playing with her bag, 'Seems like a bit of a letdown.'

'Yeah, we probably won't fit in any way,' he said dismissing the idea with a frown and she shrugged her shoulders, 'I never really have. Nothing new.'

When she looked over at Five she caught something in his gaze changed before he said sounding a bit strange the way he sometimes did when he was saying something he thought was showing that he was weak or cared too much, 'You fit with me. You always have.'

Vanya opened her mouth not sure what to say to such a statement while Five looked away and frowned, 'I hope...I hope you don't feel as left out as you used to.'

'No,' she admitted, 'I feel very much included when you drag me to lunch and break into my place for breakfast,' trying to lighten the mood back to something which didn't make her feel this strange pressure inside or like they were confessing something she wasn't sure she dared enough to hear yet.

'I don't _break_ into, I have a key,' he said and actually pulled it out of his pocket for emphasis.

She eyed it closer it didn't look like her key, 'Yeah, that's not mine.'

'It is,' he said and she pulled out her keys only to discover her key looked different. Not totally different but a little bit.

She shot him a look, 'Did you change my locks again?'

'You should change your locks every couple of months,' he said, and she rolled her eyes, 'The only one crazy enough to go through my keys is you.'

She watched as his face tensed like he was ready to argue with her all night long before it melted into something calmer and softer again. It was very rare to see Five decide not to argue with someone.

'What?'

'Nothing. You should go to bed,' he said and nodded at her door. She was confused by the change of behavior for a moment but nodded.

She blamed it on having a good time and being confused by the whole night for what she did next. She leaned toward his tall frame and hugged him close. She had to stand up on her toes, and he had to bend down quite a lot to hug her back, but for a few moments, they stayed like that in an embrace close to one another. As far as dates or not-dates went, that wasn't the worst one. She blamed the strange feeling in her stomach totally on her skittish behavior. Nothing else.

* * *

Coming to her work was a routine now. People almost stopped paying attention to the handsome man who showed up to take her to lunch every day and simply greeted him with a nod or polite hello. Vanya tried to reason why she never told anyone he was her brother. The first time she didn't have time and was too surprised he showed up in the first place, and after that, well, she figured it was sort of too late, right?

It wouldn't have been a problem if her coworkers didn't occasionally ask her about her _boyfriend_. She tried to brush it off, she really did, but at the beginning, it was like her dating was the biggest sensation in the orchestra, and it was extremely hard to ignore their questions. She gave them the basics. No lies, just something about where he worked and that they knew each other since they were kids. Stuff, which was technically true for both him being her adopted brother and her fake boyfriend. Luckily it seemed to be enough to feed them and not dig too much into it.

'You're colleagues seem to like me,' commented Five as they were on their way from the lunch they ate in.

She stopped in track momentarily terrified that he knew somehow knew. That, someone, stopped him and told him something or mentioned something and now he knew. Somehow the thought that Five would know about people mistaking him for her boyfriend caused a knot inside her stomach to tightened almost to the point she couldn't breathe.

'Yeah…'

He looked at her for a second analyzing her face before he chuckled, 'Weird. My own colleagues don't.'

She sighed in relief utterly grateful they changed the conversation. She wasn't ready to deal with whatever Five would have to say about the whole boyfriend situation. What was wrong with living with it a bit longer if it didn't harm anyone? Probably everything if people assumed your adopted brother was your boyfriend, but sometimes it was nice to push the problem away for another day and not deal with it. At least a problem like this one.

* * *

When Five started to buy her things she got suspicious. It started with paying for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. She had to graduate to actually buying food for breakfast and dinner to make him stop bringing his own, but he somehow always managed to beat her to lunch distracting her one way or another to pay. It was a bit annoying that he always managed to do so. It felt like she was losing a game. Since she started to buy groceries to somehow feel less like she owned him it wasn't as trouble, but then Five heard or someone told him that Vanya was offered to teach one class in her old music school and brought her a bouquet and a small crystal statue of a violin. It was sweet so she accepted it with a smile and hug taking it as we gift.

When he bought her a book, first print of her favorite book-ôoí_ž, in fact, she was very confused. Even more when he shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal. She had no anniversary and it wasn't even close to her birthday so why did he bother? When she looked online the price she was horrified.

'Are you crazy?' she demanded over the phone.

'It's not a big deal please let's not argue about it.'

'B-but Five, it's too much,' she argued biting the inside of her mouth as she tried not to freak out and start a fight.

Since then the books started to pile up. All her favorites, all very expensive. Whenever she tried to bring it up Five would change the conversation or told her to leave it so they wouldn't argue. That usually got her to shut up as well because she really didn't look forward to an argument. Still, it bothered her for a while until she thought up how to stop it.

'So this is how it is going to be?' he asked as he was putting books Vanya spent almost her whole salary on.

'Yup,' she said noting how he was trying to push back a smile.

It worked for a while, but there was still paying for her wherever they went which Vanya found odd. It only added to the whole feeling like they were going on dates. It didn't bother her as much as it left her wondering here and there when she looked over and saw Five watching a movie with her or eating on the opposite side of her. What were they doing?

* * *

Anyway, Vanya enjoyed her time with Five. It felt good to have him back. It felt good to have someone like him in her life. She was surprised by how _lonely_ she really was until she had him around her every day all the time. She missed him. She missed having someone.

'What?' asked Five as she spaced out looking at him and just being happy.

She chucked, 'I'm just glad you came.'

He blinked at her before he chuckled and shook his head at her, 'I said I would, didn't I?'

She rolled her eyes at his cockiness and the two of them settled for a movie for the evening. Usually, afterward he just went home, but for some reason, as they both started to doze off more and more, when he went to get up, Vanya just pressed her head against his shoulder and sleepily told him, '_Stay_.'

She woke up sooner than him that morning and found herself not at all shocked or bothered that he was on the couch with her. Sometime during the night she managed to end up on his chest and was pleasantly surprised by how warm and cozy it felt.

Biting her lip she allowed herself a couple of more minutes of the sensation before she would be forced to wake him up. However, she fell back asleep quickly afterward and they slept for another couple of hours. When they woke up still tired, but Five had to home to take a shower and change clothes while complained about how uncomfortable the couch was.

'You should get a new one. That one is not neck-friendly.'

As Vanya pressed her back against the wall and watched him gather his coat, she said, 'Maybe next time we just use the bed.'

She realized what she said just a second too late, and know for sure she said the wrong thing because Five paused in his departure and looked at her his eyes wide, the surprise impossible to mistaken for anything else.

Vanya opened her mouth and tried to cover, apologize or joke, but Five suddenly smirked at her in that way only he knew how which was both adorable and creepy and winked as if he was taking her up on her offer. Well, she did offer, didn't she?

Anyway, afterward, the sleepovers started with both of them rolling tired into the bed close but still keeping some distance. And yet somehow they always ended up together in tangled messes or one on the other's chest. Vanya would be a liar if she didn't admit that if she woke up first to find Five pressed between her breast, she just put her arms around him and hugged him tighter enjoying the extra weight.

* * *

Things happened.

By the sixth month, Vanya knew it was loud and clear that something was happening. She must have been an idiot for not noticing sooner, but the moment, Five hurried to work while she was on vacation, and he leaned down to kiss her lips before rushing out of the door, she knew something was up.

_Duh! _

She knew something was up when he started to come over and make breakfast too, but she didn't think _this_ would be that something. However, the moment, his lips pecked against her own, she knew that _something_ was happening.

Did Five like her?

She had no illusion about their behavior being appropriate in any sort of way at least by the society's standard of what it meant to be siblings, but they weren't traditional siblings. They were mostly strangers or friends and called each other siblings because of the family name. Anyway, until Five started to come over their behavior might have passed as siblings-friendly. Maybe even after even if just a little bit. But the moment, his lips pressed against hers, there was no way she could pass that on as anything even close to sibling love.

Not with the way, her heartbeat skyrocket, her cheeks flushed making her feel like she needed to open the window and let some cold air in and her stomach did that weird thing it sometimes did when she thought about something romantic or hot and _shit_.

Seriously? One peck on the lips and she lost her head or something?

Was she that horny or just genuinely desperate to fall in love at the first chance she got? She really didn't know in that moment. But she finally decided to call someone who could help her out.

'He's wooing you,' said Allison after Vanya was done speaking.

'What? No-he's not-'

'Yes, he is. That little smug bastard totally is. Look he started to cook for you food _you_ like, take you out every day, stay at your place. Go out with you and buy you all the things he knows you love and enjoy. Finding excuses to sleep in _your _bed?-'

'That one was actually me,' she cut her off before Allison laughed, '_Listen_ to me. He's totally _wooing_ you.'

Vanya chuckled trying to shake away the hotness of her cheeks being grateful she was on a vacation because she would hate to look like a tomato in work, 'No, please, stop saying that. He isn't _wooing_ me. He's…I don't know being friendly a good-'

'Brother?' Allison barked out a laugher, 'Yeah, right. A brother who wants to get into your pants.'

'Allison!' said Vanya scandalized.

'Open your eyes. Five is totally trying to get you. Look, he does all these sweet things and kisses you and you still think it's just what? Him being a nice guy because let me tell you. Five is not a nice guy,' said Allison and when she put it like that Vanya could sense her point. It was true. If someone was to call Five something nice guy wouldn't even make the cut let alone end up somewhere on the bottom of the list. Five was…well, complicated would be the best way to put it nicely. He cared. He cared for the people he liked and for his siblings, but he didn't show it the way most people did. None of them were good with showing affection, but Five was completely terrible in it rather than to say something he would leave the room and do something often not even telling anyone about it. He didn't need praise or to be thanked by it, he just wanted to improve someone's situation or bad mood. He would much rather tell someone he would kill them than to actually admit he cared enough to help them.

'Maybe the kiss was an accident. He was hurrying to work, and he just…forgot himself,' she said over the phone trying to rationalize it.

'No way, even if he did _forgot_ himself it was only because he didn't want to make a move on you like that, but trust me he wanted to kiss you. Even if you're drunk or sleepy you don't just kiss people you're not at least attracted to or don't want to kiss,' she told her.

Vanya was silent for a while taking it all in. So Five was attracted to her even if all the things he did so far were just weird things he liked to do, the kiss changed everything and left her standing right where she tried to avoid for the past several months. Figuring out what it all meant and what should she do about it.

So much for a relaxing vacation.

* * *

Five knew he was an idiot. He knew he was. He had to be. How could he not have been one if he listened to Klaus and Ben for advice?

Now he was hurrying to work like an idiot sweating through his suit even if he cut the trip by teleporting a bunch of times.

He blew it.

He absolutely and completely blew it, and there was no way in hell he could fix or cover it.

He kissed her. Just like that. Like it meant nothing. Like he kissed Vanya every day when he was hurrying to work. He just turned toward her and leaned down to that adorable little height of hers and pressed his lips against hers for a second before he ran away. _RAN AWAY!_

Five wanted to punch himself. He absolutely ruined it this time for good. It was a mistake. If Five thought Vanya was ready for him to kiss her, he would do it romantically and big and long and not a peck on the lips and then running away that was just…_rude_ and _not_ how he imagined their first kiss to go at all. Because yes, Five thought about kissing Vanya before. He thought about it a lot. He thought about it to the point when looking at her lips as she talked or bit that lower lip of hers became the worst kind of torture like getting cut or electrocuted from the inside.

It was his bizarre obsession with her lips which got Ben to notice in the first place.

'Gosh, can you just tell her already?' he asked him one night when all the boys came to play cards to the mansion while girls were off doing whatever it was that Allison wanted to do and dragged Vanya with her.

Five lifted his brows not following his not-dead-anymore sibling's question, 'Tell who what?'

'Vanya, that you want to bang her,' said Klaus trying to peek over to Diego's cars who kept on threatening him with a knife, 'Klaus for the last time back off!'

'What?' asked Five almost dropping his own.

Ben rolled his eyes, 'Come on. We all know. You're not very subtle when you're ogling her-'

'Yeah, about that,' started Luther suddenly from the other side of the table, 'we would _really_ appreciate it if you didn't do it during the time when we eat together.'

The rest quickly agreed shocking Five. There he was thinking he was a world-class assassin and apparently when it came to Vanya he couldn't be subtle for the life of him.

'But you're going to tell her right?' asked Ben, and he rolled his eyes at him trying to change the topic back to the game but apparently his brothers had other plans since Klaus and Ben wouldn't shut up about it for the rest of the evening.

'What do you want me to do?!' he snapped when the last bits of self-control left him. There was only so much a person could stand when it came to Klaus.

'Woo her obviously,' grinned Klaus at him as they were leaving the mansion Luther waving at them while Diego kept on mumbling _Not listen to my brother wanting to bang my sister_ over and over again but not actually trying to walk on his own.

'Woo her?' asked Five, 'That's the word you use? I didn't think you even knew what that meant.'

'Hey, I will have you know. I've done some pretty romantic shit when I was wooing people,' argued Klaus and Ben coughed, 'Did not.'

They shot each other a look, and Five rolled his eyes trying to walk faster wondering why didn't he teleport already.

'Look,' said Ben, 'we just want you two to be happy, and we _all_,' he shot Diego a look who finally stopped with his prayer, 'think you guys could really be that with each other.'

Five didn't know what surprised him more. The fact that his siblings clearly discussed it behind his and Vanya back, a lot apparently, or the fact that they actually wanted them to be together. It was well a bit unsettling but oddly nice to know they cared so much.

He thought about it all many times now. When he got them back to the present there wasn't enough time to deal with feelings and the fact he had a grown-up body again didn't matter. They needed to help Vanya learn her powers and deal with what was left of their family. They have been through too much to just have some sort of happy ending then, so Five was okay with waiting. In fact, he even preferred it more that way. He sure as hell wasn't ready to tell Vanya how he felt. But he realized most of the things were also excuses in a way. If he wanted to he could have found the time to tell her sooner, but he was _scared_. Not of rejection. Despite popular belief, he was the most confident man alive with an ego bigger than a football stadium, he wasn't entirely sure how Vanya felt about him, but he had a feeling a rejection wouldn't hurt him that much. He was an old man in mind. If he lost his shot because he time-traveled he wouldn't hold it against her. But if he lost her completely he would freaking lose it. He loved her too much to just not have her at least like a friend and sister if that was all she wished to be with him. It would hurt too much, and he knew himself well enough to know he wasn't that strong. But sometimes he looked at her, and she smiled at him in a special way or said something like that _no one understood her but him_, and he couldn't help himself but buzz with joy thinking _I can make you happy. I can make you so happy just let me show you. Let me love you._ And it felt that if he did confess he would shock her but if she knew she would think about it and maybe just maybe she could realize some part of her loved him as well that way. Maybe it could be enough. He knew she didn't think about it now. No, now she just saw him as a good friend or adopted brother, and any other unwelcoming thoughts were pushed into one or the other category. How could they not when he never made a move? When he never, not once, gave her any impression he thought of her as more than both of those things?

'So will you tell her?' asked Ben again and Five looked at him momentarily spacing out not even realizing they stopped by his place.

'Not yet,' he found himself saying before he told them good night.

He was ready for bed when he got a text from Vanya babbling a bit tipsy about how fun it was to hang out with Allison. He wrote back and ended up texting with her for another two hours before she fell asleep.

_I'm so tired._

_Then go to bed. Why are you still up?_

_I always want to talk to you after I do something._

Five paused and stared at the message for a while. Sometimes it was incredibly easy to hope that maybe Vanya felt the same he did and just didn't know it.

_Me too. But go get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow. _

_Okay. Good night, Five. _

_Good night, Vanya._

Even though he told her to go to sleep, he himself didn't. He stayed up most of the night thinking about everything his brothers had said and about every little thing Vanya ever did which made him feel like maybe she might be a little bit in love with him as well.

_You need to woo her._

He found himself smirking and shaking his head. He was surprised Klaus even knew what that word meant. _Woo her_.

Before he knew it he started to plan. It was something he was good at. Planning. It dealt with research and possible outcomes. Something he used to do for the mission in both the academy and the commission but also for life in the post-apocalypse and back home. He was good at planning, strategizing, being pragmatic about things.

So Number Five started to plan. It was surprisingly easy. How to woo someone like Vanya? He just had to be nice but still himself. Vanya would never fall for someone who was mean and an asshole, well a true asshole. He was a jerk but he wasn't _that _bad. Because of her past with _Jenkins_, it was out of the question to be insincere. He respected and cared for her too much to be that way with her. No, he would have to be himself just do nice things to for her.

He started to with breakfast because he noticed how little to none food Vanya kept in her fridge. To his question about what did she usually eat, she just waved her hand at him or grimaced saying she rarely had time before work and after work, she just bite whatever she could find.

He enjoyed preparing good food now that he had the time and opportunity for it. He wasn't sure if he was very good in it. He wasn't all the choosey when it came to food anymore, but when Vanya praised him he couldn't help but feel very pleased with himself. He didn't even mind waking up a bit early to get to her apartment and work on breakfast. He didn't mind it at all.

'You're in a chipper mood today,' said one of his colleagues.

'Shut up,' replied Five, but he couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the day feeling like he was actually thirteen and not almost sixty. Dear Lord, she was making him ridiculously happy.

So it started with breakfast and moved to other things like lunch, making sure she slept well and took better care of herself, dinner, movies, going out. All the little things which mattered to Vanya because deep down she was still that little girl who wanted someone to spent time with her and care for her just as much as she cared for others, and Five had no problem with that because he genuinely did care for her and wanted to take care of her.

There were times when he almost slipped. Of course, there were. When Vanya bit her lip and looked so soft and adorable and all he could think about was that he wanted to bit that lip for her. When her coworkers clearly said something sexual about him and she went completely flushed with that adorable color over her face and he couldn't help but wonder if the blush went all the way to her chest. When she hugged him good night after the first time he took her out, and he thought she could hear how quick his heart was hammering against his chest. The first time he woke up with her in his arms and then after she suggested the bed. How could she not notice that all he wanted to do was to pick her up and carry to that bed of hers and not leave for several days to come? When they started to share a bit he purposely stayed up just to pull her closer or lay down on her chest knowing it was rude and inappropriate to do so when she was asleep, but when she pulled him closer or snuggled toward him, he felt stupidly happy and pathetic. He was an ex-assassin, the best in business and here he was going completely mad and lovesick like a little boy with his first crush. Well, Vanya was his first crush, but he was an adult man, he shouldn't be like this. Anyway, all the things were a part of his plan to get Vanya to realize she had feelings for him as well or develop feelings. It was a long game. He knew Vanya was hurt after Jenkins, and he respected that. He didn't want to push her. He was giving her all the time she needed to heal while also making sure she had someone who took care of her. He knew it would take time. He was thinking a year would do maybe a bit less, but there was no way in hell six months were close to the timeline he set for this plan.

So by kissing Vanya now when she was all confused, he completely blew it up. Royally in fact. And there was nothing he could do to undo it than to hope she wouldn't cut him out of her life completely. The best case scenario would be if she ignored it that way he would carry on with his plans or maybe…

He stopped in track causing a fellow colleague to crash to him, 'Watch it.'

He faced palmed himself realizing that if she ignored it, it would mean she was uncomfortable with the idea and didn't want to be with him at all.

Great. Just great. Freaking great.

He went into his office pacing around ignoring whoever stopped by the door to look at him.

If Vanya found the kiss to be a bad idea she would shut the whole thing down completely so his plan would be for nothing because Vanya would never allow herself to be with him. So he had to talk about and explain himself to her somehow without causing her to dismiss the idea.

He just had to figure out how to do it.

When Vanya texted him asking him if he was coming over later he immediately lied he had too much work and would stay in the office late. There was no way he would figure it out until tonight so until then he needed to avoid her.

For maybe a second he thought if he couldn't ask one of his siblings for help, but quickly kicked that idea away. He still felt upset with those jerks and how they acted when they all went out of dinner that one time. Thank God, Vanya was so oblivious because honestly those morons wouldn't stop making kissing noises and hinted thing between them nearly causing him to have a stroke when Klaus started to suggest Vanya to wear lingerie underwear. He never hated his family more than in that very moment.

He should start slow. Yeah, he will just tell her, he had been feeling a certain way, but not push all of the love into it and keep it light and see what should would might think about it. Yeah, he would make it pressure-free and act like it was just a new development for him as well and that they could just leave it there. If she wanted to talk about it some more he would probably have to make it sound as nonchalant as possible and hoping she wouldn't suggest not spending time together anymore or worse completely rejecting the idea. He was a liar. Of course, the rejection would hurt, now even more than before when he knew what it was like to wake up with her in his arms every morning and talk to her before bed.

'Shit,' he said and brushed his hair feeling like he wanted to rip it out.

'Hi,' he heard and his head shot up from its place on the desk as he watched Vanya looked at him from the doorway.

He thought about pinching himself to make sure she was there when she asked, 'Can I come in?'

He nodded his eyes falling on the clock if it was any other day they would be over at her place eating dinner.

When he looked her over he noted she was dressed nicely, but then again she was always dressed nicely now at least.

'The banging your head against the table seemed pretty time-consuming,' she said and nodded at the desk he had his head pressed against.

'Yeah,' he said before he shook his head, 'No, wait, uh, I wasn't banging my head against the table.'

'Sure,' she said with a smile like she was trying to humor him. He would have rolled his eyes at her and joke a bit if it was any other day, but today just felt different.

He tensely nodded at her silently asking her why she came without actually asking her.

'I wanted to talk about this morning?' she started a bit unsure looking somewhere behind him.

'It's-'

'Nothing,' he said quickly and swallowed hard as he watched her brows raise and her expression changed a bit.

'Nothing?'

'I…was in a hurry and I don't know,' he said trying not to sound like a complete idiot and failing. Vanya watched him for a couple of moments silently.

'Alright, what about the other things?' she asked, and he wanted to crawl under a rock. 'There are no other things.'

Now she was giving him the full on _bullshit_ look. He knew that look well. Even if Vanya was a sweetheart at heart, she had zero tolerance for his crap and even if she wouldn't start a fight with him her look spoke loud and clear.

He shrugged his shoulders, 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

She watched him in silence for a moment before she crossed her arms and walked toward him. Even with her 5'1 height of nothing, she looked awfully intimidating in that moment and Five felt a shiver run down his spin as he stood up towering over her and yet feeling like the one who was small.

She stood too close. Her she made a step closer she would be toes to toes with him. Somehow that made him even more nervous. Ridiculous. He could cuddle with her in her bed and kiss her in a moment of rush, but not look her into the eyes as she stood in front of him? He was really pathetic lately.

'The breakfasts, lunches, books, movie nights, dinners…dates,' he noticed how she paused before the last one, 'All of that was…nothing? It didn't mean anything?'

He sighed and shook his head, 'Of course it wasn't _nothing_. It means…it means everything. You…mean everything.'

She stood up on her toes and kissed him.

* * *

It should have been noted that by the age of thirty Vanya Hargreeves thought there wasn't much which could surprise her. She supposed it would natural for one to gain such an ability after you find out you had suppressed destructive powers all your life by your dad and sister, dated a manipulative and vengeful psychotic asshole, caused the apocalypse a couple of times, and had siblings who used to be egoistic and selfish superheroes who caused you to feel meaningless and unimportant for the last twenty-three years. So yes, by now Vanya Hargreeves was almost certain there weren't many things which could surprise her. Apart from a few missteps like her superpowers and her ex, she would like to think she was a good observer and had a decent judgment of character. She knew the people close to her inside and out so there was little anyone could do to surprise her. Even her brother Klaus who was known to do the most irrational and crazy thing possible was becoming sort of dull since she was expecting him to come up with something insane.

So yes, by now Vanya was pretty confident about her skills to know people and not be surprised by their behavior or decision. And yet she found herself surprised by the one person she thought she knew better than anyone in that point of her life. It was that person she thought she would least had to worry about ever shocking her, who shocked her beyond her imagination. That person was herself as she stepped on her toes rose her hands to his cheeks and kissed Five for all he was worth giving into the warm feeling inside her chest and chaos in her mind which wouldn't stop thinking about him and the possibility of him what they could be.

The kiss was deep and yet soft. It felt like a confession in its own right of what they felt for one another and held inside for a while now. It felt like the first warm and sunny day after winter. It felt like first real kisses should have felt. It felt like love.

He broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads together seemingly at loss of words as Vanya calmly smiled all the time before she opened her eyes to look into his their foreheads still attached.

'W-why-uh…,' he chuckled, 'I don't even know what to say.'

'That's a first,' she teased him.

'Shut up,' he said and put his arms around her waists pulling her closer. His body was warm and solid and Vanya felt she could just fall on in him and he would catch her every time keeping her from harm.

'So what now?'

'Well,' she said with a tone like she was weighing her options, 'I wouldn't mind another kiss.'

She leaned away from him to look at him properly, 'And dinner. Assuming you're not as busy as you claimed to be?'

He grimaced in that way which she always found adorable even if she would never embarrass him by saying it, 'Yeah, I can bang my head against the table some other time.'

She giggled, and he pressed his hand against her cheek softly stroking it with his thumb, 'I would have waited six more months you know.'

She grinned, 'Would you now?'

He nodded and pressed the lightest kiss against her other cheek.

'Well, what else had you in mind for the next six months?' she asked enjoying the feeling of his lips against her skin and feeling completely at peace. She wouldn't say she felt happier than she had in a long time because that would be a lie. She was very happy with Five over the last couple of months but she did felt happy now in a different way, better, special. She felt loved, cherished and cared for. And she couldn't help but enjoy every second of it.

He kissed her instead of telling her filling her up with everything he must have been feeling for the last six months that he was wooing her maybe even longer. She smiled against the kiss breaking it at some point, but she couldn't force her cheeks to stop. She was just too damn happy.

He brushed her head softly looking into her eyes, 'How about I just do them?'

She nodded still grinning like she was insane, 'Yeah, let's do that.'

**Koniec**

**Author's Note:**

> A.N: Okay, finally done after almost 3 months so yaay :D 
> 
> I told myself I would dedicate this story to you, 263Adder, after you got so excited about it so here it is after 2, 5 months, I hope you will like it. Anyway, to everyone else thank you for the never ending support, reading my works and feeding me enough lovely things to continue to work on my stories thank you. If you want to leave some feedback. Have a nice day


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